SHAUN Wright-Phillips is over the first hurdle as he bids to avoid World Cup heartbreak for the second time in his career.

Wright-Phillips was left out of Sven-Goran Eriksson’s England squad for Germany in 2006 after failing to nail down a regular first-team place during his debut season at Chelsea under Jose Mourinho.

And in recent weeks he has been haunted by a similar scenario after falling out of favour with Roberto Mancini at Manchester City.

But Wright-Phillips, 28, breathed a huge sigh of relief yesterday when he was included in Fabio Capello’s initial 30-man squad. Now the task is to make the final 23.

He said: “It would be a dream come true to be in the squad for South Africa and to help England go as far as possible. To pull on an England shirt on such a big stage would be a real highlight.

“Of course, it was a huge disappointment not to go last time, it’s always been an ambition of mine to play in a World Cup. I’ve just got to keep my head down and work hard to make it happen.”

Wright-Phillips was injured when Mancini replaced Mark Hughes as City boss just before Christmas. When he was fit again, Mancini signed Adam Johnson from Middlesbrough for £8million and, although largely left-footed, Mancini preferred to play him on the right with Craig Bellamy on the left.

That meant no room for Wright-Phillips, who went from automatic choice to fringe player, starting seven of 26 games under Mancini and being replaced in five of them. But he said: “The team has been doing well and the wingers have been playing well, so I have to respect the manager’s decision.

“As long as when I came on I did well and still looked sharp I hoped that would be enough to get me in the squad. I’ve been involved in more or less all the England squads, so the manager knew what I had to offer.”

Despite making the 30, there is plenty of competition for the right-wing slot, with Johnson, Aaron Lennon, Theo Walcott and James Milner contenders.

He added: “There is a lot of competition and that means everyone has to raise his game, which is only good and positive for the country.

“Whoever eventually goes to the World Cup will hopefully be on fire and that is exactly what we need from players once they are in South Africa. Brazil and Spain will be the favourites but a lot of teams will be worried about us.”

Shaun Wright-Phillips is pictured signing a specially decorated National Express coach touring the country to collect a record-breaking number of good-luck messages for the World Cup. To leave your message and win England v Mexico tickets follow Nation Expects on Facebook or visit nationalexpress.co.uk